Sara defense surprised by Trillanes withdrawal

The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte was caught off guard by the prosecution's decision to drop former senator Antonio Trillanes IV as a witness in her impeachment trial, but said Thursday it was prepared for his testimony and would respect the move.

Defense spokesperson Michael Wesley Poa said the team had not expected the prosecution to completely remove Trillanes from its witness lineup after preparing for his appearance before the Senate impeachment court.

“We didn't expect it, definitely,” Poa said in a post-trial briefing Thursday.

Poa said the defense had prepared based on the prosecution's earlier list of witnesses, including assigning a lawyer to handle Trillanes' cross-examination.

The defense had anticipated that prosecutors could change the order in which their witnesses would testify, Poa said, but not that Trillanes would be dropped altogether.

“Pwedeng magpalit ng order, pwedeng mauna yung iba, pwedeng ihuli si former Senator Trillanes. So, we were at least expecting that. Pero yung expecting them to totally drop, we didn't expect it,” he said.

Still, Poa said the defense would not object to the prosecution's decision, stressing that prosecutors have the discretion to determine which witnesses they believe would strengthen their case.

The House prosecution panel formally announced Thursday that it would no longer present Trillanes as a witness. Lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro told the impeachment court that the prosecution had “finally decided” not to present the former senator.

Trillanes had been expected to testify in connection with Article II of the impeachment complaint, which concerns allegations involving Duterte's wealth and her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.

The withdrawal came after the impeachment court had deferred issuing a subpoena for Trillanes, while the prosecution worked out the sequence of its financial witnesses.

Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo had earlier said he preferred Trillanes to testify before an Anti-Money Laundering Council official so that financial information he might disclose could be checked against AMLC records.

Poa, however, said the defense was not concerned about the effect of Trillanes' withdrawal on its preparation.

“Wala naman because we just react to really, because it's really the time of the prosecution now to present their witnesses,” he said.

He added that the defense would continue to respond to whichever witnesses the prosecution ultimately presents. Asked why Trillanes was dropped, Poa said he did not know and did not consider it his place to find out.

“Sa amin, we just react to whatever the prosecution does,” he said.